A Second Chance
by ailing-red-rose
Summary: Hermione's life with ron is not all she thought it would be. she meets someone who could change it all. DMHG
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Hermione was shuffling papers around on her desk when Ron burst through the door. This violent action caused her many, perfected piles to go flying. Hermione pushed her hair back exasperatedly,

"Honestly Ronald, the least you could do is knock!" Ron rolled his eyes and went to her desk drawer and pulled out the whiskey that was always stashed there.

"I could, but would that be any fun?" he said, sitting in her chair and putting his feet on the desk.

"Ronald," she said, her voice trembling with lack of control, "would you please leave? I am very busy at the moment, and I really don't have time to deal with you." She started to pick up the papers that had managed to get their way to the floor.

"Fine, but don't come complaining to me when the minister comes by the house tonight and you were completely unprepared," he said, standing up and managing to push down more papers. "I've got to go anyways."

When he was gone Hermione continued to sit on the floor and do nothing, not bothering to clean up the ink spill that had been created by her husband.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Hermione arrived at her front door at around six thirty. She sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. She didn't really want to go in, she couldn't take another falsely joyous dinner with Harry for the press. But she knew that she owed it to Harry and he would be immensely disappointed if she didn't show up. After all, what was the golden trio without the golden girl? She dug in her purse for the keys and inserted them into the lock of their enormous house. She was caught off guard by the bustling house elves; Ron had fought her over that one, what was the point of money without the luxuries? They were carrying large trays of highly expensive food and setting up flowers and cocktail bars. It seemed even with Ron's warning she was still off guard by the enormity of this meaning.

"May Mindy take your work stuffs madam?" asked the house elf in front of her. Hermione smiled distractedly,

"Um sure," she tenderly handed over her things and ran upstairs.

When she arrived in her room she saw the glittering elaborate dress laid out on her bed. She sighed and picked it up. It was gorgeous, it had long silver sheer and the flowing body was velvet and blue. She and Ron had bought it the previous year in some boutique in Rome. They had been happy then, it had been the before the press started monitoring their every move, before Harry had been elected minister, before Ron had been elected deputy minister. Those had been some of the happiest days of her life. But now Ron was obsessed with looking good for the paparazzi, he was obsessed with outshining Harry again, because, once again, he was in his shadow, literally. Hermione sighed and went to her dressing room to put the dress on.

Just as soon as she was finished styling her hair Ron came through the bedroom door.

"Good, you found the dress," he said. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I know the drill, Ron," she said bitterly.

"I'm glad to see you've settled so wonderfully into this life, my dear," he said kissing her neck.

"Get out Ron, I have to finish my make up," she said, coldly. Ron looked angry but exited quietly, reminding her to be down in 10 minuets.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Draco arrived at the Weasley's house looking extremely handsome. He was wearing one of his most expensive suits, he was smoking a cigarette, his silver hair has cleanly cut, but his eyes were dead. They were unseeing and cold. This was thanks to many similar parties he had attended in his youth and his adulthood. No one seemed able to let him alone, not even after his father had been arrested for being a deatheater.

"I suppose it has something to do with the name and the job," said Malfoy, bitterly. But, if truth were told he did enjoy these parties, but he was not looking forward to this one. He did not want to speak to Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger-Weasley. He had not spoken to them since his schooldays, and only then to insult them or defend his honor. These people were not his friends, and he did not know why they kept speaking good of him at press conferences, inviting him to parties and not speaking to him. It angered him that they kept helping him, when he did not ask or want their help. It was also too obvious that all their help was fake. It was degrading.

He stamped the cigarette into the ground and walked up to the door. He could see the many people already inside, laughing and having fun. He raised his eyebrows at them and put on his party face and stepped through the door.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

AN: this is my second story, well my third-but the second one kinda sucked, and maybe this one does too, but maybe not.

If I didn't the beginning of this plot across here it is-ron and Hermione live a public political life, they're extremely unhappy, but then she meets Draco…:)

Please review, any review helps me, any at all.

Ailing Red Rose


	2. Stumble Away

Chapter 2: Stumble Away

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

The house was already full by the time Hermione made it downstairs. She was greeted by several people she knew from the ministry and several people she knew from Hogwarts before she managed to find the bar. The bar was the first place she headed to at these events. There she could always strike up an interesting conversation with the barkeep and stay away from most of the press and avoid Ron. It really was efficient. She took a seat at the edge of the counter and ordered a sherry. As she delicately sipped the liquor she watched the happenings of the party out of the corner of her eye. There were people chatting amicably, ministry officials talking to the press pointedly, and several happy couples already out on the dance floor. Oh, how she longed to be one of them, without any problems just the simple, joyful, task of dancing in the arms of a loved one. She took another, not so delicate, sip. As she asked for another she saw Ron motioning for her to come over from a corner of the room. Hermione smiled dazzlingly in return and walked over to him.

"What is it, Ron?" she asked, clearly irritated.

"I just don't think you should start every evening out at the bar," he said out of the corner of his mouth, waving at the people walking by.

"I don't start every evening out that bar, Ron. I didn't see you right away so I figured, why not get a drink?" She said, simply, resignedly.

"Sure."

"And that is supposed to mean…." She inquired.

"Just that you seem to spend more and more time with drinks and less and less time doing your duty," said Ron, his eyes still focused on his guests.

"My duty?" she said, her voice full of disgust.

"As my wife, and the head of the Department of Mysteries," still not looking at her.

"Uh-huh. Well, then, if I've upset you Ron, I'm deeply sorry, and will try not to do it again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to my duty as head." She stalked off, anger radiating off her body.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Draco watched the interaction between the Weasleys with interest. Most people would not have noticed that the two had just had a most extraordinary argument, but he was trained notice these things. Before the war had ended this training held an actual purpose, blackmail and such, but now it was just used for his personal enjoyment. It was enjoyable to see Wizarding Britain's most beloved political couple fiercely fight with each other, almost as enjoyable as finding out that the wife was steadily becoming an alcoholic. Draco smiled as he downed the last of his scotch; he was going to investigate this.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Hermione didn't know what to do with herself. She was so incredibly angry. Ron, it seemed, had decided it was his duty to control her. She couldn't stand him right now; she needed to get away, to get away from him, from this. So she headed for the door and slipped out into the night.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Hermione managed to get into the city before she stopped to think about what she'd just done. Ron would be entirely furious with her; she would eventually have to face those consequences. Harry would likely just be hurt, nothing that she couldn't deal with. The press, though, the press would talk, and Merlin knew, that wouldn't be good. If they even hinted that there was something going wrong between her and Ron, their already precarious relationship would come tumbling down. But, then again, maybe they wouldn't notice anything amiss. Ron would probably just tell them that she was feeling ill. Hermione suddenly realized that she wasn't breathing, immediately she let her breath go. She looked at her surroundings. She was in muggle London. She could probably go get a drink somewhere, but then again, no. That would only add fuel to Ron's fire that she was a drunk. She looked down at herself. She was still wearing that damn dress. She couldn't really walk into a café wearing that, so she transfigured it into a pair of dark jeans and a tweed trench coat. She started out in the direction of some sort of coffee, to clear her mind.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Draco had followed Hermione from her front door. She hadn't noticed him at all, and he wondered what kind of ministry head she was, if she couldn't even detect a follower. But, then again, she had just had a horrible spat with her husband, and nobody had even noticed. She stopped in the middle of muggle London, and Draco felt an involuntary shudder, he was still a Malfoy, after all. He saw her transfigure her clothing, and so he did the same. And on they went.

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Hermione managed to find a semi-deserted café, and she sat down to order a coffee. As she waited for it, she let her tears fall. Over the past few months the tension with Ron had been building, and today had seemed to be the climax. She couldn't stand being treated as a centerpiece anymore, and that was all Ron saw her as. It hadn't started that way. Ron had been happy and joyful at the beginning of their marriage. But things had just seemed to go downhill from there. And it seemed she had reached a breaking point. She had never wanted to be famous, but, unfortunately, that's what happened when you were one of Harry Potter's best friends and when you helped him defeat Lord Voldemort. Soon her coffee came and neither did she acknowledge the waiter, nor did she touch it. A voice brought her out of her trance, however.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? A Weasley who's stumbled away from the pack?"

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

AN:

I hope you like the chapter, I know how long this has taken, but then again, I'm not sure how many people are reading this story anways…so if your are please review!!i'd like to know if I'm doing this for nothing :)


	3. Unveiling

Chapter 3: Unveilings 

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Hermione looked up, astounded. How could Draco have followed her here, had he been at the party? No matter, she would have to act as always, the perfect Gryffindor.

"Draco," she said, coldly. "What are you doing here?" She looked up at him, making sure that distaste and eloquence seeped from her face. Draco, however, smiled and took a seat across from her.

"Well, your husband's party wasn't all that, shall we say, interesting to me, despite the numerous women," he chuckled, Hermione rolled her eyes, " when I saw you leaving, however, I figured it could only lead to adventure." Hermione was confused. Why had he followed her, adventure didn't seem very specific. She voiced this,

"Adventure? What the hell does that mean?"

"I've followed you and Ron's story in the paper recently, it seems as though you haven't been getting along. And, I know, that when you get angry you get entertaining," he smirked. 

"What? What do you mean our story? And how should you know I'm angry, or that I get 'entertaining', why do you know me at all?"

"This is what I mean, entertaining," he leaned back in the leather booth, putting his hands behind his head. "To ease your worries, I doubt anybody else will have picked up on the, to put it delicately, hate, between you and your husband. I am extremely tuned to the troubles between couples," he slunk down.

"Ah, yes. But, you do know, that because your wife left you Malfoy," she spit out the name, "does not mean that I will leave my husband. We are much better people." Now Malfoy sat as straight as a rod.

"Ginny did not leave me. I left her."

"That's rich."

"How's that?"

"Because she finally realized what you were. It took her three years, but she finally saw you for who you are! A snob, a Malfoy, and a Deatheater."

"So much for Ministry forgiveness." 

"Hah! You actually buy that bullshit? Don't think for a moment that the Ministry isn't watching your every move!"

"Voldemort is dead, dead and gone," said Draco, in a monotone, he was used to uttering this phrase.

"Yeah right, we both know that he is rallying his servants, his slaves, as we speak. And, I think we both know that you are one of them."

"I am no Deatheater!"

"Bullshit." 

"It's not."

"And how am I supposed to believe that, huh? From your testimony from ten years ago?"

"I don't have a mark," said Draco, quietly.

"He finally realized that little flaw, it's easy to point out traitors when they're branded, isn't it. But no," she wiped her finger around the rim of her coffee cup, "He's still found some way to brand you all, hasn't he? It won't be long until the Ministry figures it out." 

Ailing Red Rose / Ailing Red Rose

Hello all! I'm sorry it's been SUCH a long time, but it seems that I just don't have time anymore :( 

But here's another chapter. I know it stops at an unconvientent time, and it will start up again in the same place, but hey, it's something right?


	4. A Weasley Makes an Appearance

Chapter 4: A Weasley makes an appearance

Chapter 4: A Weasley makes an appearance

Draco stared at her angrily. Hermione stared right back. In her school years she might have blushed or looked away, frightened by him, but now she realized that she was just, if not more, as strong as him.

"My family has provided the Ministry with a lot of information, Mrs. Weasley," he said, nastily.

"That doesn't mean that they won't turn right around," she finally took a sip of her now cold coffee, "Don't think we don't employ the same tactics as the deatheaters. We're just a legal branch." As she said it she realized it was true. Originally she had only meant to frighten Draco, but it hit her that the Ministry was no better than Voldemoret, it simply looked better on paper. As she had delved into her mind Draco had stood up.

"If you'll excuse me, Granger," Hermione huffed a little at the use of her maiden name, "I have to be going. Busy day ahead of me, you see." She nodded sullenly. "Goodbye." He stalked out of the café into the black night. Hermione breathed out a huge sigh.

It was not easy for her to see or talk to Draco, or any Malfoy for that matter. That name was as good as hell in the family she now belonged to. It had been made even worse once Ginny had married Draco. Hermione hadn't really had a problem with it, even though Ginny hadn't told her until the engagement. Hermione didn't really think it was fair to the Weasleys to keep them in the dark in such a situation until the last possible moment.

The waitress came around.

"Hello, dear. Is you friend gone?"

"Oh, yes. He's gone."

"Well, would you like the check…" but at that moment a bell tinkled in the doorway, and since the woman was the only one working the store she looked around to see who it was. Hermione kept her eyes on her own coffee until she heard the voice of the customer.

"Hello!" cried the voice.

"Hi," said the waitress, "Can I get you a seat?"

"Um, no, that's alright. I'll sit with my friend here."

Hermione watched the woman as she stalked over, in much the same way that Draco had stalked out.

"Hello, Hermione," she said.

"Hello, Ginny."

"Fancy meeting you here!" said Ginny, smiling as she accepted a menu from the waitress.

"I somehow don't think it was really chance."

"No, I guess not. But, how can you say no to meeting your best friend?" Hermione looked up at Ginny now. She looked very different from the girl she had met in her second year. Her face had been changed by the plastic surgery she received three years out of Hogwarts, that Hermione had adamantly protested. Ginny was also very thin these days. She had never been large, but never before could Hermione see her ribs so clearly. Her satin orange hair was now white blond, almost the same as Draco's. Ginny's change in hair color had been the final straw for her family, and it was also the major change Ginny had made before marrying Draco.

"I wouldn't say we're best friends anymore," said Hermione, sadly.

"What! O come on Hermione, certainly you're over that stupid Draco thing. I did divorce him after all."

"Not until after you destroyed your family's trust."

"And apparently yours."

"Ginny, I haven't seen you since the legal proceedings. And only then because I was presiding over them!"

"Well, I want to make amends."

"Amends?" Hermione sounded doubtful.

"Yes."

"I don't believe you."

"And why's that?"

"Because of all you did. It's not that easily forgotten Ginny."

"They forgave Percy!"

"What you did was much, much worse that Percy."

"He insulted Dad!"

"You insulted both your parents, and your brothers."

"So?" 

"And Harry," said Hermione, softly.

"Ah, yes, everybody always gets back to Harry."

"Well you did break his heart!"

"I couldn't have married him!"

"And yet you could marry Draco?"

"It's not like you married him."

"I'm in love with your brother, Ginny."

"Yeah, love."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We all know that the end to your paradise is ending, Hermione. Ron's a time bomb. He's never happy with what he has," Ginny gave a smile that was frighteningly similar to Draco's.

"Ginny, why are you here?" said Hermione, quickly changing the subject. Ginny gave her a small, nasty smile.

"I need help."

"We'll you've certainly convinced me to do it."

"You're my sister."

"In-law," she reminded her.

"Whatever. But I do need your help, Hermione."

Hermione gazed sadly down at the shorter woman. Ginny was always getting herself into trouble. Trouble concerning men, concerning money, and often concerning politicians.

"With what?"

"I…I…I…" she stuttered, "I've been threatened."

Hermione looked at her curiously.

"By who?"

"Ron."


End file.
